Families of 9/11 victims have urged the organizers of the 25th‑anniversary remembrance ceremony in Lower Manhattan to exclude New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani from the event.
A petition compiled by several families lists concerns about the mayor’s public positions, associations, and responses to rhetoric that many view as hostile to shared values.
The petition cites the mayor’s perceived reluctance to condemn phrases linked to anti‑Jewish slogans, his connections to individuals who dismiss American institutions, and an association with a radical imam who hosted the 1993 World Trade Center bombing mastermind.
Families also point to the mayor’s father, a professor who published a book shortly after the attacks arguing that suicide bombers should be understood as a feature of modern political violence and drawing moral equivalence between the United States and extremist groups.
Despite the objections, the mayor has said he intends to attend the ceremony, stating he will honor the families and survivors and reaffirm the nation’s remembrance of that tragic day.
Critics note that the mayor has supported socialist candidates and made statements that could conflict with the solemn purpose of the event, while the memorial museum has historically emphasized keeping the commemoration free of politics.
The petition arrives amid heightened rhetoric directed at the mayor as he prepares to take office and face the first September 11 commemoration as mayor.
